


Safe

by Edgeless



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: (very very light no sexual description at all), BDSM, Dom/sub, Multi, Other, Past Abuse, Safewords, uh it's implied non con but still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-01
Updated: 2014-01-01
Packaged: 2018-01-07 02:24:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1114399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edgeless/pseuds/Edgeless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a prompt at eleventy-kink, The Doctor and safe words. <br/>Or, Some memories leave a more accessible mark than others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safe

**I** t started fluidly and continued in a manner much the same. They had had a pretty intense “trip” that had climaxed with a lot of shouting, Amy and the Doctor handcuffed, and Rory restrained so he had to look directly into the eyes of the Doctor. There was a certain...tension and when they finally shut the TARDIS doors there was a communal sigh followed by two blinks worth of silence. Then Rory and Amy were kissing and the Doctor was fidgeting awkwardly by the console. He knew, at least subconciously, that he was supposed to be involed in some way, but he wasn’t quite sure how that was supposed to start.

 

Then they were heading down the hallway and had to break apart the kiss. Rory turned around and smiled dazedly at the Doctor, smiling his head to join them. Before he knew what was happening he was a pace behind them and there were arms on his shoulders and his waist and lips on his and _oh wasn’t this a perfect mess_.

 

And then it was suddenly a part of them and they were _together_. In some ways they were very traditional, well, as traditional as a multi-species, varied gender, polyamorous relationship could be.  They held hands to an excessive amount, kissed on the nose, bickered flirtatiously and pretty much caused envy in everyone they encountered because they were just impossibly happy with each other.

 

OF course, there were many, many ways in which they weren’t a classic lovestory. They had the codependency people tend to get when they endure a tragedy (which was logical as they had survived many, both together and alone.) They were all in varying degrees of messed up and somedays they couldn’t align with each other at all. But the untraditional quality of their relationship that is likely the most intriguing is their sex life.

 

In the terms of Amy and Rory’s time, they were pretty BDSM. There was tying up, blindfolds, “dirty talk,” and of course, dominance and submissions. Amy was the very obvious domme. Rory was a “switch” and didn’t really have a preference for either role, he enjoyed them both eagerly and equally. The Doctor preferred to sub.

 

Rory and Amy felt like they knew him well, and they realised that a long life of trauma, depressive tendencies, and submission weren’t the safest combination. They repeatedly and openly emphasised the importance of the agreed upon safeword and how imperative it was that he used it. After the first time they went over it the Doctor became bored, whining that he “ _obviously trusted them, look where they were, and he knew all this obviously and could they please move onto the kissing?_ ” And so they did. He didn’t ask for much and was nearly always Good, so it was only fair.

 

A few measurements of time later (who keeps track of these things?) they found themselves in their room in the middle of an “experiment” (the Doctor was terribly ineloquent.) Rory was subbing alongside the Doctor.

 

All was going particularly well, he thought, so he looked to his right to the doctor. They were both on their knees and Rory knew he always looked so pretty like this, very blushy and fluttery. And he was, his cheeks a lovely color they could never reach outside of this room. He looked to his eyes, as they were usually full of sleepy excitement, dazed, but--fuck. Tear tracks. He looked to Amy, who was currently admiring him, and significantly flickered his eyes to their boyfriend. She, judging by the expression on her usually lively face, was as worried as he was.

 

“Doctor, love, are you okay? Good tears or bad tears?”

 

He shuddered, then looked up at her, blinking furiously and just barely missing eye contact.

 

“Not bad. It’s fine; I’ll be fine in a moment.” More tears slipped out and he looked quickly to Rory before looking down again.  

 

“Bad tears.” Rory said quietly. Amy slowly crouched down in front of her boys.

 

“Doctor, it’s okay. I’m sorry I didn’t see you’re upset. But you’re with us, it’s okay. We’re all okay.”

 

The Doctor nodded ashamedly. “Yes, I know, I’m sorry. Just give me a moment, please.”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” Rory murmured quietly, but he carefully maneuvered himself so he was a bit farther from the Doctor and in a more comfortable sitting position.

 

After a minute the Doctor looked up and smiled apologetically, that too-few-layers-deep look of sincerity in his eyes.

 

“I’m sorry, I am. I didn’t mean to stop everything. Just, memories.”

 

“Doctor,” Amy started, only slightly relieved. “It’s not your fault. You did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. Zero. I should have noticed you were upset.”

 

The Doctor looked to Rory for confirmation and he nodded. “She’s right, love. I’m really sorry. Do you want to, you know, talk about it?”

 

He considered this idea, winced a bit, but nodded.

 

“I uh--a while ago me and a partner had to kneel for um--well they were deciding which to torture first and usually I’m fine with not thinking about it, but ah, I guess I’m less skillful at that than I thought I was.” He chuckled a bit, still in the position that started it.

 

“Okay, we won’t be doing that anymore. I--god I’m sorry that happened to you Doctor.”

 

“We don’t have to stop if you enjoyed it!” He finally transitioned to sitting cross legged with hands out on either side. The Ponds shifted to each side of him and gripped his bony fingers as if they were water.

 

“But it triggered you. Which brings me to the topic of safewords. I’m definitely not mad at you, but just in the future, this is a great time to use the safeword.” Rory smiled softly. “I’m definitely not mad at you. We both aren’t.”

“I know you said that but,” The Doctor breathed out heavily. “We weren’t in danger and it wasn’t going to affect you so I didn’t want to end all the good things because of one bad thing.”

 

“Us, like this, it’s supposed to be a totally mutual good thing. And when you’re scared or feel bad, that’s not good and we need to stop so we can all be, well, happy and safe.” Amy said fervently, smiling just for the sake of it.

 

“Wait, has… has this happened before?” Rory asked, trying to hide that he was consumed with horror. The Doctor had been through a lot, he’d been in relationships like this before, and if he hadn’t understood safewords this whole time?”

 

“Um, yes.” Oops, Rory couldn’t hold back that choked noise and he truly hoped he didn’t sound like that creature they had had to fight early that day.

 

“Oh, Doctor.” Amy pulled them all together for a hug and they could hardly notice each other’s tears through the blurred filter created by their own.

 

“That’s. That’s terrible. I’m sorry I love you--I’m sorry” Words were pouring out of Rory’s mouth like blood. They just held each other tightly, barely keeping themselves together and hoping extra hands would keep them together. As a nurse, Rory was trying to pressure together the pieces of the dam holding back the flood of _he’s never really given consent_ evenly mixed with _I thought we could help him not break him further_. Amy was pushing back the tides of _I’ve abused him_ , _I love them_ , _who did this to him_? The Doctor was already drowning in _scared_.

Eventually they pieced the barriers back together and lay down on the floor, shoulders pressed together.

 

“Can you tell me the things the trigger you, love?” He nodded, tracing patterns into Amy’s hipbone.

 

“I’m probably going to forget some. I’ll write you a post-it later.” He smiled at Rory’s eyeroll. “So yeah. Kneeling, when my feet can’t touch the ground, cages and prisons. Um. When I can’t leave or scream for help or something.” _Wince_. “Those mean sex words. Ah. Whore and things like that. And wh- rape and drugs.” No one breathed. “That’s probably enough for now. You two?”

 

Rory rubbed his shoulder. “Hitting, cutting. Anything Roman.”

 

“Being alone is mine.” She wrinkled her nose. “And dolls.”

 

“Okay. Don’t think I can forget it now.” He’s changing what happened again.

 

“And the safeword?” Rory will always play along.

 

“Bowtie.”

* * *

 

The Doctor abruptly closed his eyes. “Bowtie!”

 

Amy and Rory immediately backed up, trying to breathe at a normal rate and calm their bodies down.

 

He opened his eyes one at a time. When he saw his partners, all worry lines faded and he even smiled.

  
“Thank you. I’m okay now. Just memories.”


End file.
